Dental health is one of the most ignored subjects in our country. It is surprising with little effort much can be gained in terms of being free from pain and discomfort.
Let me walk you through a simple regime which will help you with your oral health.
Cardinal rule is brushing twice a day, after breakfast and before going to bed. If you have to brush your teeth first thing in the morning, please do, just add on your after breakfast brushing routine so that you don’t have food remnant festering in your mouth.
Do get into the habit of flossing your teeth once a day.
Take a 6 to 8 inches of floss, wrap it around both your index fingers to have a comfortable length in between. Gently insert it in your interdental space (the space between two adjacent teeth). Now with a shoe shine movement clean both the surfaces of the adjoining teeth. Start from one corner and go over both the jaws cleaning the approximating surfaces as you go along. Do not tug it into tight spaces or you might injure your gums, gently prise the floss into the space.
Avoid sugary and sticky foods. Foods like apples and roasted chana that have a higher fibre content are also natural cleansers. So while they are good for your overall health, they do good to your dental health too !!
Please do not brush horizontally and too vigorously, you need to engage three teeth at a time and give short to and fro motion to the head of your brush from gum to the crown, and again all surfaces in and out. Generally it takes about three minutes.
Massaging your gums with your index finger promotes gum health. Do not use abrasives to brighten your teeth.
I hope you found this concise and useful. Keep your smile all the while.
Dr Ratna Sharma
BDS
In private practice for the past 20 years
